Carries Book Reviews

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Title: The Weekend Retreat

Author: Tara Laskowski

Publisher: Graydon House

Publication Date: December 26, 2023

Page Count: 339

About the book:

Every year, the illustrious Van Ness siblings, heirs to a copper fortune, gather at their lush winery estate for a joint birthday celebration. It’s a tradition they’ve followed nearly all their lives, and now they are back with their significant others for a much-needed weekend of rest and relaxation, away from the public spotlight.

With lavish comforts, gorgeous scenery, and indulgent drinking, the trip should be the perfect escape. But it soon becomes clear that even a remote idyllic getaway can’t keep out the problems simmering in each of their lives. As old tensions are reignited, the three couples are pushed to the edge. Will their secrets destroy them, or will they destroy each other first? And who’s been watching them from beyond the vineyard gates?

When a torrential rainstorm hits, plunging them into darkness, the answers prove all too deadly…

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon  /  Harlequin / BookShop.org  / Barnes & Noble / Books A Million

Excerpt:

W-JKA BREAKING NEWS

Tragedy strikes at Van Ness Winery

SUNDAY, October 15—Multiple people have been reported dead at the Van Ness Winery after an altercation late Saturday night, our Eyewitness Team reports. Police were dispatched around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday morning after a 9-1-1 call from the estate’s main house, but they were delayed hours getting to the scene because of the torrential rainstorm that flooded Rte. 8 and many of the small roads leading up to the winery. 

Our news team is on-site but has not been able to verify details with officials, who are still investigating the scene. It appears the damaged substation in Parnell affected power to the estate as well as a number of neighboring homes and businesses in the Finger Lakes area. 

This tragedy is the latest to befall the Van Ness family, whose matriarch, investor and philanthropist Katrina Van Ness, died earlier this year of pancreatic cancer at the age of sixty-eight. 

The Van Ness winery, known for producing high-quality, award-winning wines, has been owned by the Van Ness family for several generations. The family started the business in the 1950s, after selling their Arizona-based copper mining company founded by Benson Van Ness. The 985- acre winery and estate is now managed by the Van Ness siblings, who live full-time in New York City. Their family investment office owns interests in multiple different real estate holdings and industrial and manufacturing enterprises. The siblings are believed to have been visiting the estate for the weekend for a family celebration. 

We will report more as details are confirmed.

THURSDAY

Two Days before the Party

LAUREN

Ever since Zach told me about The Weekend, it’s all I’ve been able to focus on. Most people would naturally be at least a little nervous to meet their significant other’s family for the first time. 

But most people aren’t dating a Van Ness. 

“Earth to Lauren.” Zach snaps his fingers, grinning over at me. He left work early to get on the road sooner and didn’t have time to change, so he’s still wearing his suit, purple tie slightly askew but knotted even after hours of driving. 

“Sorry,” I say, tugging the ends of my hair. “Zoning out.” 

“You look like I’m driving you to your death,” he says, then grabs my hand and squeezes. “Don’t worry. I promise it’ll be fun. Even if my family’s there.” 

All I can see out my window are trees and fields and cows, my cell phone bars ticking steadily down. We must be close. Zach is taking care on the steep, curvy roads. One bad turn could send our car into a deep ditch or crashing into a thick tree trunk. 

It’s so beautiful up there, my best friend Maisie said when I told her about the invitation. She had that wicked look in her eye. All the rolling hills. A vineyard. Starry sky. Super romantic. Perfect place to propose. My stomach flips at the thought, and I breathe in deep. This weekend is not about us. It’s a birthday party for Zach’s older siblings, Harper and Richard, the twins, an annual tradition to celebrate at the family’s winery. I can’t get ahead of myself.

We drive up a winding gravel road, through patches of dense trees. Taller ones have already gone barren for the winter, but some of the smaller trees arch over the road, their branches meeting and entangling like fingers, blotting out the remaining light.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are now approaching the famous Van Ness estate,” Zach says in a booming voice as the car’s headlights flick on. “Please, no photographs, and keep all hands and feet inside the moving vehicle at all times.”

Zach had told me the estate was large—a thousand acres— but I didn’t grasp what that meant until the tunnel of trees ends and the view opens to a sprawling expanse of green fields and rolling hills, stretching endlessly against the purple-hued sky. We cross a small stone bridge that extends over a stream, then bump along a rocky road. The vineyards creep closer to us now, eerie in their precise organization, each plant in a perfect row. We’re inching toward winter, and all the grapes must have already been picked for the season, pressed and bottled, because the vines are bare and withered.

When I first moved to New York and waited tables at an Italian restaurant, we served the Van Ness wine. I remember those dark purple labels, the name stamped big and bold on the front. A brand that said, We are too good for you. But Zach is nothing like that, like the Van Nesses you read about online. Sometimes I forget he’s part of that family in the day-to-day rhythm of our lives. He doesn’t talk about them much, offers the scantest of information, or cracks a joke, or completely changes the subject when I bring them up. All I know of them is from the press, fleeting and superficial, like the pages of a glossy magazine, but hazy enough that I can imagine slicing open my finger on the sharp edges if I’m not careful.

“Tell me about them,” I say now, when there’s no evading the topic.

He glances over at me. “My family? What more do you need to know?”

“I don’t know. How can I win them over so they all love me forever and ever?” I say, trying to hide my nerves.

He laughs. “They’re impossible to win over.” 

“Oh perfect,” I say. “That makes it easy then.” 

“Nah, they aren’t that bad. They’re…particular is all.”

We head up a slight incline. To the right, there’s a gravel path marked Private—Staff Only. We pass it and stop in front of a large metal gate. Zach rolls down his window, fetches a key card from the glove compartment. “We had this installed years ago for extra security,” he says. Once the machine reads his card, the gates swing open soundlessly. I turn to watch them rotate back and slam into place. 

As we round a corner, I finally catch a glimpse of the house, a stone mansion, stoic on the hill. The long driveway curves up to an overhang in front, flanked by a series of round potted trees. 

“Here we are,” says Zach as we pull up. He shuts off the car, taps the digital clock on the dashboard. “And on time for dinner, too. Elle will be pleased.” 

My stomach does another flip. 

Breathe deep. 

Project confidence.

They’re going to love you. 

I get out. The air is chilly—it’s dropped at least ten degrees since we left the city. I wrap my arms across my body. 

The massive wooden front door opens, and an older man walks out, gray hair and beard, a deep purple polo shirt with the Van Ness logo stitched on the pocket, two flutes of sparkling wine in his hands.

“Bill! You are the man.” Zach trades him the keys to the car for the glasses. “Lauren, Bill and his wife Linnet have been taking care of the estate—and us—since I was a snotty-nosed kid.” 

As Bill heads for the trunk to unload our baggage, I survey the house. My eyes follow the three short steps up to a wide entryway with pillars, to the archway above the door, and then outward to the wings on either side. Greenery climbs up the stonework between the windows, and I imagine Bill must trim it often to keep it so nice. I touch a pillar next to me and feel its cool smoothness. 

“Where’s everyone else?” Zach asks Bill. For him, this is business as usual. I doubt he even notices the grandness anymore. 

“Oh, they’re around,” he says. “Miss Elle says dinner at 6:30, and you can all meet in the library.” 

I smooth down the gold silk top Zach picked out for me, hugging and hiding in all the right places, like expensive clothes do. What would my parents say if they saw me? They would never guess I’d be weekending with a famous family like this. They never thought I’d make it in New York, thought I’d come crawling back begging to return to my night shift writing obituaries at our small-town paper. 

But I’m never going back.

I take a sip of the sparkling wine. The bubbles pop, cold and hard against the back of my throat.

Excerpted from The Weekend Retreat by Tara Laskowski, Copyright © 2023 by Tara Laskowski. Published by Graydon House

About the author:

TARA LASKOWSKI is the author of The Mother Next Door and One Night Gone, which won an Agatha Award, Macavity Award, and Anthony Award, and was a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, Left Coast Crime Award, Strand Critics’ Award, and Library of Virginia Literary Award. She is also the author of two short story collections, Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons and Bystanders, has published stories in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Mid-American Review, among others, and is the former editor of SmokeLong Quarterly. Tara earned a BA in English from Susquehanna University and an MFA from George Mason University and currently lives in Virginia. Find her on Twitter and Instagram, @TaraLWrites.

Author website / Instagram / Facebook

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Title: Faking Christmas

Author: Kerry Winfrey

Publisher: Berkley

Publication Date: September 26, 2023

Page Count:  286

My rating: 4 stars

About the book:

Laurel Grant is playing house for the holidays—complete with a fake husband and kids—in this delightful, charming rom-com by Kerry Winfrey.

Laurel Grant works as the social media manager for Buckeye State of Mind, an Ohio tourism magazine and website. She most definitely does not run a farm . . . but one tiny misunderstanding leads her boss, Gilbert, to think she owns her twin sister Holly’s farm just outside of Columbus. Laurel only handles the social media for the farm, but she’s happy to keep her little white lie going if it means not getting fired—she cannot be jobless again.

And keep it going she must when Gilbert, recently dumped by his wife, invites himself over for the farm’s big Christmas Eve Eve dinner (as advertised on Meadow Rise Farm’s Instagram, thanks to Laurel herself). Laurel immediately goes into panic mode to figure out how she can trick Gilbert into thinking she’s basically the Martha Stewart of rural Ohio and keep her job in the process.

Laurel and Holly come up with the perfect plan—all Laurel has to do is pretend to own the farm for one dinner. But Laurel shows up at the farm to find an unwelcome guest is waiting: Max Beckett, her nemesis since Holly’s wedding. The annoyingly attractive man she hates will be posing as Laurel’s husband just for the evening, but when a snowstorm traps them all for the entire weekend, Laurel is going to have to figure out how to survive with her job and dignity intact. Whatever the case, this promises to be the most eventful Christmas in ages. . . .

Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey is a contemporary romance novel that is set during the Christmas holiday season. The story in Faking Christmas is a mix of the old fake dating trope with an enemies to lovers tossed into it.

Laurel Grant works as a social media manager but she had to tell a little white lie to get the job… or possibly a big white lie depending on how you look at it. You see, Laurel is a twin and she’s borrowed her sister’s life to draw inspiration on leaving her boss to believe Laurel actually owns and operates a farm too.

Laurel’s lie doesn’t seem to be a problem until her boss invites himself to the farm for Christmas. Quickly Laurel coordinates a switch with her sister for the family dinner but the one thing her twin won’t share is her husband so in walks Max Beckett to take that job… the only problem Laurel doesn’t get along with Max so this will take a Christmas miracle to save her job.

When I saw Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey I did a double take and took a closer look since I have a soft spot for fake dating stories and usually love them. Thankfully I did decide to pick this one up as it was right up my alley with some great characters and a lot of laughs down on the farm. Enemies to lovers isn’t always up my alley but this one worked and I quickly flew through the pages soaking up the holiday shenanigans!

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon

About the author:

Kerry Winfrey is the author of the romantic comedies WAITING FOR TOM HANKS , NOT LIKE THE MOVIES, VERY SINCERELY YOURS, and JUST ANOTHER LOVE SONG. FAKING CHRISTMAS will be published on September 26th. She’s also the author of two YA novels. She lives with her family in the middle of Ohio.

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**

An Heir Made in Hawaii
Emmy Grayson
Published by: Harlequin Presents
Publication date: December 26th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Tough negotiations turn to tempestuous nights in this surprise-baby romance by Emmy Grayson.

Claiming his baby…

after one hot Hawaiian night!

Anika Pierce refuses to have her family hotel swallowed into tycoon Nicholas Lassard’s property portfolio, despite his offers. Their heated negotiations in Hawaii lead them to his penthouse. One electrifying encounter won’t change Anika’s mind…but discovering she’s pregnant might!

Nicholas never planned to be a father. Yet, on hearing Anika’s bombshell, he vows to give his child the happy upbringing he never had—which means winning over the woman who challenges him at every turn. Except to do that, he must admit that their connection runs far deeper than their scorching passion…

From Harlequin Presents: Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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EXCERPT:

She missed home, missed the crispness of fall sliding into winter as snow danced down from the Alps and dusted the town and the adjoining lake. Lake Bled was becoming better known as a travel destination, although it had held on to its small-town European charm.

But Hawaii had rekindled a wanderlust she hadn’t felt in years. She hadn’t even known she’d needed to get away from Slovenia until she had stepped out of Kauai’s airport into tropical heat that had slid across her skin like a lover’s caress. Palm trees had provided shade, mountains covered in velvety green instead of snow had stood proudly against a turquoise sky and, perhaps her favorite part of all, were the chickens that had run about with carefree glee.

Determined to relax before she walked back up for the conference’s opening session, she lay back on her towel. Slowly, she focused on relaxing her body, tension seeping out of her muscles as the sun gently wiped away her worries and lulled her into a dreamlike state.

Schedules and overdue bills and marketing plans slipped away. For once her mind was completely, blissfully clear of everything except where she was.

The word drifted through her mind again—heaven—and she let out a sigh of contentment.

“Be a shame to burn that beautiful skin.”

She froze as the deep, gravelly voice rolled over her, each of the words pronounced with emphasis and tinted with his rasping accent. The rigidity returned, invading her body and tensing her limbs into tightly coiled springs as her pulse kicked up a notch.

Because he’s annoying as hell, she reassured herself.

A shadow fell over her, blocking the sun. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and blinked.

“I was wrong.”

Nicholas loomed over her, white smile flashing against tan skin that said he had recently been traveling, or more likely partying, abroad.

“About what?”

“I’m not in heaven. I’m in hell.”

 

Author Bio:

Emmy’s interest in romance can be traced back to her love of Nancy Drew books, when she tried to solve the mysteries of her favorite detective while rereading the romantic chapters with Ned Nickerson. Fast-forward a few years when she discovered a worn copy of “A Rose in Winter” by Kathleen Woodiwiss on her mother’s bookshelf, and she was hooked. Over 20 years later, Harlequin Presents made her dream come true by offering her a contract for her first book.

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The Sweetest Obsession
Nicole Snow
Publication date: December 19th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Falling for the best thing that never happened brings sweet mayhem in this steamy, gripping, and heartfelt small-town grumpy-sunshine standalone romance by Wall Street Journal bestseller Nicole Snow.

My brother’s best friend owned my heart until the day he drenched it in kerosene and burned it down.

Grant flipping Faircross is so not the reason I’m coming home.

I don’t care if he’s gotten bigger, meaner, and grumpy enough to flash freeze the sun.

So what if he’s up in my business the second I arrive?

I’m smarter now.

I’m only back in Redhaven for my sick mother and to talk some sense into my sister before she marries a toad.

Grant ran me off once and I’m not running back.

I can handle the drama, the messy secrets, and an unexpected stalker just fine.

…or maybe not so fine.

When Prince Anti-Charming charges in to protect me, it’s kinda hard to say no.

When I find out he’s a single dad with a heart bigger than a prune, it gets harder.

And when his lips storm mine with a growl that says “stay,” oh God.

Are we really doing this again?

Especially when an old tragedy resurfaces with hard truths, stinging tears, and one brutal question.

Will our sweetest obsession finally deliver us or destroy us forever?

The perfect blend of small-town romance, furious spice, and jaw-dropping thrills that will keep you guessing. Batten down your heart as a stone-hearted giant wakes up and fights to keep the girl who got away—if she’ll ever admit she wants to be chased.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

All of me freezes as I meet his eyes, stare at him, stare into Grant, into that quiet solemness and raging gruffness that hides a heart so true.

He never stopped.

He really never stopped looking for my brother all this time.

He still thinks there’s a chance he’s alive, even if deep down, that seems completely ludicrous. The hope was starved out of me without anyone finding a single clue.

“You… you asshole,” I strangle out. My mouth moves automatically. I don’t know what I’m saying, why I’m saying it, or why my eyes are welling up and I just can’t take anymore. “You overly loyal giant donkey. You… you…”

There’s a moment.

A crack in reality when those hard eyes soften.

All those years I spent when we were young, wishing he’d show some emotion.

Something plain and simple and honest.

Something easy, without having to turn myself into a human Grant decoder to understand his growls and loud silences.

Now, he finally gives me what I’m aching for with real concern flashing across his face, the way he leans into me, staring down like he’s afraid he’s broken me somehow.

“Ophelia, fuck,” he says softly. “I won’t see you hurt.”

No, but he will see me speechless tonight.

If I ever speak again, I’ll tell him how wonderfully dumb he’s being.

But right now, he’s just a giant blur past the tears.

Scalding, stupid, overwhelmed tears I don’t want to cry, but I just can’t take another bee sting to the heart.

I can’t take more confusion, more things to fear.

Holy hell, I don’t want to think about it anymore.

Because if I’m thinking, that means I won’t do what I’m doing right now.

I won’t be laying my fingers on Grant’s face, my fingers weaving through the thick, grey-shot bristle of his bearish brown beard.

Pulling him closer, even as his eyes widen.

I definitely won’t be kissing him.

Kissing. Him.

I don’t know what comes over me.

It’s too instant, too impulsive, too reckless.

Too impossible to be denied.

And now that I’ve started I can’t stop, and I can taste years of pent-up emotion in the salt between our lips as I crush my mouth to his and beg.

Don’t hurt me right now, Grant. I can’t stand another ounce of pain and disappointment.

Just give.

Give me the fire in that growl, the nip of your teeth, the sweet, sweet rush that makes me tingle.

I’m actually shaking for my longest obsession.

No surprise, the man is a human earthquake when his lips attack mine.

Or maybe it’s just the vibration, the shock and awe steaming out of him, tangled up in this sudden hunger I can feel.

Grant goes still for just a second.

The shock radiates through both of us in hot waves so intense they leave me dizzy.

I brace, wait for it, fully expecting the imminent stab of hurt where he sternly pushes me away and reminds me I’ll always be the kid sister.

Nothing but Butterfly.

Not anyone he could ever see as romantic or sexy or remotely desirable.

…only he doesn’t.

Instead, he wraps his huge arm tight around my waist, possessively jerking me forward, almost off the chair.

My stomach leaps and twists.

Instead of tearing his mouth off mine, he goes all in.

Author Bio:

Nicole Snow is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author. She found her love of writing by hashing out love scenes on lunch breaks and plotting her great escape from boardrooms. Her work roared onto the indie romance scene in 2014 with her Grizzlies MC series.

Since then Snow aims for the very best in growly, heart-of-gold alpha heroes, unbelievable suspense, and swoon storms aplenty. With over a million books sold, she lives for the joy of making two people fight with every bit of their soul for a Happily Ever After.

Current fan favorites include her Enguard Protectors series, accidental love novels, plus long beloved MC romance thrillers like the Grizzlies and Deadly Pistols.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub

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Geordie
Pax Sinclair
(The Scotsman’s Kilt, #2)
Publication date: December 20th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

MacTavish Distilleries, my family’s centuries-old company famous for its premium whiskey, sent me to California to craft wine to extend our legacy into America. My family, what’s left of them, remain in Scotland. Even thousands of miles away, my heritage and traditions continue to shape my life.

Despite losing my parents at a young age, I’ve always strived to follow their example—seeking love, marriage, and a brood of wee bairns. I envision this same perfect life, sprinkled with flirtations along the way, but in the end, I will have my own family. However, in a matter of minutes, a brutal dirt bike accident has shattered my life and reset my timeline.

Lying in my hospital bed, with only the sterile hum of machines for company, it’s clear that I must start my family now. With no solid relationship at present, the need to fill this void gnaws at me, urging me to find a solution before desperation leads to rash decisions.

Then there’s Lily, the vibrant chef I recently encountered. When we met, sparks flew, the heat between us intense. Yet, a couple of wee concerns stand in the way of a brilliant relationship. Lily doesn’t think much of me, and from what I could tell, she’s married.

Read “Geordie,” book two of the Scotsman’s Kilt series, a sexy, touching enemies-to-lovers, pregnancy romance. Discover how starting a family can also lead to romance. This is a standalone story.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

The old manor house, or the residence, as Geordie calls it, is out of a period piece from PBS. Portraits of ancestors trimmed in gold, heavy, ornate furniture in plush velvet, a fireplace the size of a wall. I expect to see Robert Burns and his friends walk in at any minute. I try not to gawk like a tourist at the place or the countless celebrities Geordie introduces me to.

After leading me away from the last group, we walk into a dark passage to another section of the house. The hum of the guests is not as noticeable here. He stops, turning to me, my back against the wall, and I’m looking up at him.

“I could see you were overwhelmed by the company, so I thought I’d steal you away for a bit.” He slips an arm above my head, leaning in close. His lips and the scent of whiskey make my bra feel tight. “I’ve missed you these few days.” He takes my lips, pressing against me, his hand sliding up and down my waist.

“You had Connie to keep you company,” I tease.

He pulls back a little, smiling. “She’s not you. I don’t fuck her. That, I do with you.”

“Is that what you’re going to do to me now? Take me like one of your male ancestors took a maid in this hall?” I’m so up for it, I can already see it in my mind. God, I’ve missed him enough to make up this silly fantasy. I need him to be the laird of the manor right now.

He pulls up the hem of the pale blue chiffon dress I wore to the christening and bunches my panties in his hand. His lips drop to my ear. “I should take you right here for making me wait.”

 

Author Bio:

Pax is a contemporary romance author who writes the kind of hot, twisty, drama-filled romances that she loves to read. Her novels are about biracial women in interracial relationships that will have you turning pages until the end.

Her current series, Love@work, takes you into the world of Silicon Valley’s billionaire tech moguls. These are powerful men and women who are driven by the changing landscape of business and their seductions in the bedroom.

Come along for a ride in Pax’s world, where it’s always steamy, captivating, and sometimes erotic.

Pax lives and works in Silicon Valley. She’s a California native.

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